Smoking device mouthpiece



SMOKING DEVICE MOUTHPIECE Filed April 20, 1949 IN V EN TOR.

flail-1 49101 [exam Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SMOKING DEVICE MOUTHPIECE William Clark Taylor, Washington, D. C.

' Application April 20, 1949, Serial No. 88,587

as a mouthpiece for use with pipes, cigarette holders, cigar holders, and the like.

An object of my invention is to provide a; mouthpiece which presents a widened and substantially flat ended portion to be engaged and held betweenthe teeth to thus give a broad contact surface and prevent twisting or dislocation of the pipe or cigar or cigarette holder.

Another purpose is to so construct the tip and portions of the mouthpiece adjacent to this flat surface that the mouthpiece can be readily and conveniently held and supported by contact with the teeth.

Still another purpose is to provide a mouthpiece which is of simple and inexpensive construction and which can be manufactured and sold either as a part of a completed pipe or cigar or cigarette holder or as a separate stem or mouthpiece portion to be applied to such smoking devices already in use.

Still another purpose is to provide a mouthpiece having a broad and substantially fiat end in that portion received within the mouth, so that there will be no sharp angles or corners or other formation likely to engage or irritate the tongue, and on the contrary the portion positioned to be engaged by the tongue is substantially flat and without any irregularities or protuberances.

With the above and other objects in view, all of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art and others of which are inherent in the construction and use of the device, my invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of formations which will hereinafter set forth in connection with the drawings and then pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of a pipe, and with the manner of fitting and contact in the mouth diagrammatically indicated.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the mouthpiece.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation looking at the inner end of the mouthpiece.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the mouthpiece.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken transversely substantially on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 4 looking at the lower side.

Where a pipe, with either a straight or curved stem, is being smoked the pipe must be held between the teeth, and the weight of the bowl accomplishes a leverage which is transmitted to the teeth in a manner to cause tiring of the jaw and possible aching of any tender teeth. Further, where the user has plates or other dentures, the contact of the teeth with the substantially unyielding material of the mouthpiece and the overbalancing weight of the bowl will often cause displacement or discomfort to the user. With my improved mouthpiece I have found that the bite of the teeth is distributed on the pipe stem so that in effect two or more teeth contact the stem, and at the same time the inner portion of the mouthpiece or stem will contact with the inner surfaces of two or more teeth. Further, the

mouthpiece has a relatively broad and substantially flat inner end presented in such position that there are no sharp edges or protuberances to engage the tongue of the user. The stem portion I of the mouthpiece is of any desired shape and size and form, and at its inner end this stem has a bite portion'enlarged, as at 2, as disclosed in Figures, 1 and 2,,and then grooved or cut away at its upper side at 3, and on its lower side at 4.

This transverse grooving or cutting away of the upper and lower portions leaves shoulders 5 and 6 adjacent to and forwardly of the grooves 3 and 4, and the groove 3 is so formed that an upwardly diagonally extending rest portion is provided at 3. The inner end i of the bite portion is made blunt or flat, and of substantially rectangular shape on its bottom and sides and being curved or rounded up centrally at its top edge at E3, as shown in Figure 3. As perhaps best disclosed in Figure 5, the grooves 3 and 4 are so formed as to provide substantially flat engaged surfaces 8 and 9 to contact the substantially straight and aligned cutting edges of the teeth of the upper and lower jaws, and as disclosed in Figures 4 and 6 the part inwardly beyond these tooth engaging surfaces 8 and 9 is preferably widened out, or flared laterally to be of substantially greater width as indicated at it.

A smoke passage is provided at H extending longitudinally through the stem I and opening nearly in the middle of the surface I, the upwardly curved or rounded portion, however, extending a greater distance above the longitudinal axis of the smoke passage than does the downwardly inclined portion, from said longitudinal axis.

In use, a pipe bowl 12 can be associated in any suitable manner with thestem I, or a cigarette or cigar holder structure can be mounted or formed at the outer end of the stem.

When a person uses this mouthpiece, the

teeth will engage with the flat and substantially parallel portions 8 and 9 on the upper and lower portions of the tip of the mouthpiece, and thus two or more teeth will be resting upon both the upper and the lower surfaces 8 and 9, distributing the weight over the several teeth and preventing axial twisting of the mouthpiece. At the same time, the shoulder 5 automatically locates the upper teeth so that diagonal surface 3 is presented against or adjacent to the inner sides of several upper teeth, while the shoulder 6 is presented to engage two or more lower teeth.

As stated and shown in Figure 3, it is perhaps preferable that the mouthpiece be rounded up, as at l3, at the top edge of the inclined portion 3, so that this portion will follow and substantially conform to the inner curved line of the upper teeth.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a smoking device mouthpiece which can be used upon pipes, cigar, and cigarette holders, and in fact any smoking device, and which will give a better and more comfortable fit when held between the teeth, and which will distribute the weight over several teeth and will at the same time prevent axial or lateral twisting with consequent displacement or disarrangement of the smoking device.

My improved mouthpiece is of such construction and formation that it can be readily made of wood, rubber, plastic, or any other desired material, and the formation is such that the smoke passage can be accomplished by a straight molding or boring, and no complex operations are required for the formation of the other portions.

I claim:

A smoking device mouthpiece having an elongated stem provided with a mouth-entering portion at one end and having a smoke passage extending substantially centrally longitudinally therethrough, said mouth-entering end being enlarged upwardly and downwardly and being widened out laterally and terminating in a substantially flat face rounded upwardly at its upper edge at the mouth-entering end, said mouth-entering portion being recessed and reduced transversely on its upper and lower portions forwardly from said flat face to provide substantially straight and substantially parallel upper and lower tooth edge engaging portions with abrupt outstanding shoulders defining the forward sides of said recesses and engageable with the outer surface of the teeth, said enlarged mouth-entering end having upwardly and downwardly inclined surfaces to fit the inner sides of the teeth as the mouth-entering end is grasped between the upper and lower incisor teeth, with the upwardly rounded portion extending a greater distance from the longitudinal axis, of the smoke passage than the downwardly inclined portion is from said longitudinal axis, whereby the upwardly inelined surface will substantially fit within the inner curve of the upper incisors, while said upper and lower tooth edge engaging portions are presented to be grasped and to bear between the cutting edges of the upper and lower incisors, and with the flat end face having the smoke passage opening therethrough provided to be contacted by the tongue of the user.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,507,571 Barling Sept. 9, 1924 1,865,780 Naimaster July 5, 1932 2,135,632 Barling Nov. 8, 1938 2,136,824 Rabkin Nov. 15, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,191 Great Britain '1907 19,520 Great Britain 1994 382,443 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1932 497,783 Great Britain so. 28, 1938 

